Satire

It's Tuesday June 6th...

According to charges released Monday morning 6 of the 17 "gardening enthusiasts" arrested over the weekend were allegedly plotting to blow up iconic Canadian symbols like: the Parliament buildings, the CN Tower and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Currently, the whole thing's already got my knickers in a knot but let me say this … and I'm only going to say it once...DO NOT mess with the Oilers!

This is The Current.

Michelle Shephard

The charges are chilling: conspiracy to carry out a terrorist activity, training for terrorist purposes, bomb-making, and illegally importing guns and ammunition---activities we often associate with Oklahoma City, Lower Manhattan and more recently Madrid and London. Now authorities say the 17 Toronto-area men and teenagers arrested over the weekend were planning unprecedented terrorist attacks on Canadian soil.

Like those who were arrested after the London bombings, most of the Canadian suspects are reportedly middle-class residents or citizens. In fact, they fit in so seamlessly, the arrests have left many of their neighbours, friends and families stunned.

Investigative reporter, Michelle Shephard, covers terrorism and security issues for the Toronto Star and she led the paper's extensive coverage of the story. She has also assembled intimate profiles of some of the men who were arrested. This morning, Michelle Shephard joined us in our Toronto studio.

Muslim Teacher

The term "home grown terrorism" isn't well-known here, but it's an all-too familiar one overseas especially in places like Spain and England. And it's back in the London papers after the British government released its official report about the terrorist bombings of July 7th, 2005.

More than fifty people were killed and hundreds injured in a series of explosions across London. The report looks into what went wrong with intelligence, but it also hopes to get at the root causes of Muslim disaffection in that country.

One person who knows a lot about that disaffection in both the UK and Canada is Abdul-Rehman Malik. He's a teacher and an activist, who has taught in Mississauga and now works with young Muslims in the UK. We reached him in London.

Listen to The Current: Part 1

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 2

James Loney

Last November, four members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams were snatched off the crowded streets of Baghdad, by a little-known band of Iraqi insurgents. The Peacemakers, including Canadians Harmeet Singh Sooden and James Loney, had been protesting the foreign occupation of the country. The captors released grainy video of the hostages, and they threatened execution if troops weren't withdrawn from Iraq immediately.

After the body of American Tom Fox was found, hopes for the safe return of the remaining three were dashed. Then in late March, troops led by British forces raided a building where they found the remaining hostages.

That was a few months ago, and since then James Loney has been spending time with family and friends and, recently, working on behalf of Canadians being held as terrorism suspects. He joined us in our Toronto studio to tell us about his own ordeal.

Listen to The Current: Part 2

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 3

James Loney (Cont’d)

We continued our conversation with Canadian James Loney, one of four Christian Peacemakers held hostage in Iraq after being kidnapped off the streets of Baghdad last November.

James Loney is an activist with the Christian Peacemaker Teams. He was kidnapped for 118 days in Baghdad. He and his partner Dan Hunt joined us in our Toronto studio.

James Loney and his partner, Dan Hunt

Music Bridge

Artist: Ray Montford
Cut: CD 1, “Far and Wide”
CD: “Many Roads”
Label: Softail Records
Spine #: MR03CD

Last Word: Culbert

Earlier on the program, we talked about what motivates some young Muslim men to join radical religious organizations or terrorist groups. Well, tonight on The National, Mark Kelley will bring us a report called "An Enemy Within", about how Europe is coping with its rise in Muslim extremism, the kind that has kept London and Madrid on high alert, and left a Dutch icon dead in the streets of Amsterdam. And he'll tell us how the so-called war against terror might be sparking yet another dangerous movement called "Islamophobia". That's tonight on The National.

But all the talk about terrorist threats from within hasn't prevented folks in the US from worrying about keeping potential threats out.

We ended the show today with some parting shots from comedian Stephen Colbert. He recently gave the commencement speech at Knox College in Illinois tackling in his usual satirical fashion the sensitive subject of national security and the trouble with North America's porous borders.

Listen to The Current: Part 3

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

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